The Open Books Flare, Corona Reading, Interviews and Podcasts, Things Breaking Down, Heat Waves with Goldfinch and Hummingbirds

A Long Week of Ups and Downs – Readings, Podcasts, Interviews, Heat Waves and Health Emergencies

It’s been a LONG week since I last checked in. Had my debut Seattle reading at Open Books (in record-breaking heat), my interview and podcast reading with Writers and Books in New York, which will eventually be available on YouTube, my mother went into the ER with heart issues the day before Mother’s Day, I broke a tooth and our washing machine broke and had to be replaced, and someone else ripped the screen door off of our front door. Plus a scary-hot heat wave with day after day in the high eighties and nineties, absolutely terrible for those of us with heat-sensitivity and MS, and a dental appointment (to fix the tooth) and a bunch of blood work.

Open Books Flare, Corona Reading

I’ll start with my Saturday reading at Open Books in Pioneer Square, the first time I’ve read at the new location. It was a day of record-breaking heat (and no air conditioning), so I doubly appreciated the people that came out, and the store putting out several fans. I also packed a cooler with water bottles (and sparkling rose) and boxes of macarons—because people need sustenance during a book signing.

The reading itself went okay—you can see the whole thing here on my YouTube channel—did you know I had one? Minus Martha Silano’s excellent introduction. (Hey, you have to be there in person for some parts!)

And a single poem, “In the Second Year of the Plague, I Plant a Fig Tree” is in the embedded video below. This poem also appears in the current issue of American Poetry Review.

And here are some pics pre-reading, including the Open Books “Parlor” all decked out with flowers and sparkling wine. Any reading where I can walk out with new books and a borrowed recording of Sylvia Plath readings is a good reading in my book, and it was a really good venue, especially the “Parlor” for afterwards visiting.

A Week of Podcasts and Interviews (and Things Breaking Down)

Monday was my reading and interview with BOA Editions Publisher Peter Conners at Writers & Books in New York, which will make the entire thing available on their YouTube channel shortly (I’ll post the link when it’s up). I also had a radio interview yesterday with the Hive for a Santa Cruz radio station, which will go up, believe it or not, in November.

And here is an interview that went up today on Review Tales by Jeryan Main: An Interview with Jeannine Hall Gailey – Review Tales (jeyranmain.com)

But Things Break Down…
During this time my mom had a trip to the ER with dizziness, and they thought they caught a rare kind of heart attack on the ECG. She saw a cardiologist yesterday and is getting a full workup, but suffice it to say I was very worried (and the timing ironic, with Mother’s Day—and she was just here, looking as healthy as possible). I subsequently broke a tooth, which I had repaired the morning of the Writers & Books podcast, I had blood work the day of our book club (where we discussed Kelly Link’s White Cat, Black Dog) and our washing machine broke—and a service person ripped our screen door off of the trim and hinges, so it was a weird time for stress, breaking things, and oh yes, a record-breaking heat wave. There was not a day last week that felt comfortable outside—stifling nineties and high eighties in a town with little air conditioning, few pools or public cooling areas, etc. The summer flowers burst into bloom almost to start immediately wilting. At least my little fig tree—yes, I really did plant one last year—is enjoying the heat. My MS symptoms are at a high point—so today is a resting day. Writing this post, I realize a lot went on in the last week!

My next reading isn’t until May 31 at the Lake Forest Location of Third Place Books, so hopefully I’ll be fully recovered by then!

It’s a reminder that with good things – like a book launch – come bad things – like family health emergencies, broken appliances, and broken teeth – and it is my goal to survive and thrive through the good and the bad. But I appreciate any good vibes (especially for my mom.)

Sending you all good vibes for a wonderful beginning of summer…I’ll leave you with a pic of my book in the Appalachian Mountains, near where I grew up in Tennessee, sent from blogger and writer Kristin Berkey-Abbott. And a few goldfinches and hummingbirds from my backyard.

 

Book Launch and Straight into Summer, Interview with Kelli Russell Agodon, BOA’s Blog Post and Making a Flare, Corona Cocktail, and Readings Tomorrow and Monday!

Book Launch! And Straight into Summer!

Summer has Arrived in Seattle! It’s supposed to be 80 today, and 90 this weekend! So we went straight from February to August with no spring in between. Too bad – since spring is my favorite season.

On the plus side, my book Flare, Corona has officially launched, I have my Seattle debut reading at Open Books tomorrow, a great interview with Kelli Russell Agodon went live, and I have funny videos and graphics to share – including how to make a cocktail (it turns out I did not miss a secret calling as a bartender.) I’m posting a little early this week because I have a reading tomorrow and a reading and interview on Monday, and I wanted to give you all the news in between.

Interview with Kelli Russell Agodon

Kelli did a wonderful interview with me about Flare, Corona for The Linebreak (and will also appear in the upcoming issue of Redactions.

It’s funny, revealing, and sounds like a chat between two old friends – which it is! So check it out.

Here’s a little bit of the interview:

Kelli: “But I’m wondering, in this world which can feel like a lot of terrible news, how do you make space for art?”

Jeannine: “I have to admit I wrote more during the pandemic – I’m sure that’s true of many people. I think I wrote over 200 pandemic poems over the last two and a half years, not all of which were brilliant, but they were one way of dealing with the uncertainty and stress that went along with living through a pandemic. I also read through a ton of Joan Didion and Virginia Woolf, neither of whom I knew much about, read two fantastic huge nonfiction books about writers (Red Comet and The Equivalents, both of which I highly recommend), and walked through about every neighborhood in a five-mile radius. And planted about seven trees.

Gardening, photography, getting together with friends, seeing art, reading–all these things feed the creative side of me and make it easier to be productive as a writer.”

Reading at Open Books in Seattle Tomorrow Saturday the 13th with Special Guest Martha Silano (and Macarons)

I’ve got my poetry set all set up and so excited to be at my favorite all-poetry bookstore tomorrow with my friend Martha Silano (whose poem was a clue in NYT crossword this week, what what!) and we’re bringing fancy macarons to share during the book signing afterward in the Parlor.

This is my first time reading at Open Books’ new location in Pioneer Square. I’m hoping we can keep it cool (and I’m bringing a few cold drinks with me just in case) and that people show up since we are having beautiful sunny weather after an entire spring of rainy gray cold days. I had to drag out all my summer dresses and sandals after wearing sweaterdresses and boots earlier in the week. I’m happy to say you can also order a personalized copy of Flare, Corona from Open Books here. Support indie bookstores!

Flare, Corona Cocktail – BOA’s Flare, Corona blog post, and a (Funnyish) Video

So, BOA did a blog post about cocktails, food and drink in Flare, Corona:  A Cocktail Pairing for FLARE, CORONA with Jeannine Hall Gailey – BOA Editions, Ltd. and then I did a video about how to make the cocktail (recipe at left.)

It’s sort of funny because it’s obvious I’ve never used a cocktail shaker before and Glenn keeps whispering things about  how to make the cocktail but you know, I wasn’t really pursuing a mixologist future. The drink itself is pretty good if I do say so myself though!

Another Virtual Reading and Interview at Writers & Books in New York on Monday the 15th!

This even is actually taking place in New York State, because Peter Conners, the publisher of BOA Editions, will be doing the post-reading interview. I hope I sound smart (and my Zoom connection holds.) It’s Free on Zoom – here’s the link for attending: Jeannine Hall Gailey: Flare, Corona – Writers & Books (wab.org)

Thank you to everyone who has bought the book, written an Amazon or Goodreads review, sent me a kind message – book launches are hard but you guys make it worthwhile.
More pics to come in the next post!

Ready for Launch? Flare, Corona’s Official Pub Date Arrives, an Upcoming Open Books Reading with Martha Silano, Instagram Takeovers, Plus More Pics of Tulips and Parties

Ready for Launch? Flare, Corona’s Official Pub Date Finally Arrives (and BOA’s Instagram Takeover)

Yes, all the waiting is over – if you pre-ordered the book, or were waiting for the book to be available from BOA or Amazon or you wanted to review it on Amazon, the 9th is the day! That’s tomorrow!

In celebration, I’ll be taking over BOA Edition’s feed on Instagram May 9th, 10th, and 11th so keep your eyes out for that! I’ll talk about inspirations, making cocktails, playlists, and more. I’m a little bit nervous because I’m not the world’s most confident Instagram user, but hopefully I have respectable posts and stories. Isn’t it funny that now Instagram videos are part of promoting a book? That wasn’t true the last time one of my books came out. Ah, how things change!

And, really, if you have time, if you can go and put up a few words about the book on Amazon I would really appreciate it. Amazon reviews (and stars) still matter more than we would like to think!

Also, in case you are interested, I’m not just a BOA author, I’m also a customer! This is what I got from my Spring Book Lovers Subscription package, which includes my new book plus Jessica Q. Stark’s Buffalo Girl (which I can highly recommend!) and more. You can subscribe here: https://www.boaeditions.org/products/subscriptions Fluffy cat not included.

Open Books Reading with Martha Silano (and Macarons and Book-Signing Afterwards!)

My Official Seattle Book Launch Reading and Party is taking place on May 13 at Open Books in Pioneer Square at 6 PM.  I’m super excited!

Martha Silano is doing the introduction and reading and I’ll be bringing macarons from Lady Yum for the book signing afterwards in the Parlor. It’s supposed to be a warmish day but hopefully not too warm? I’d love to see some of my old friends’ faces so come on out, get your signed copy of Flare, Corona. Here’s a link from the store itself for more info: https://open-books-a-poem-emporium.myshopify.com/pages/5-13-book-launch-with-jeannine-hall-gailey

And, if you can’t be there but you want to order a personalized copy of Flare, Corona from Open Books (support our local independent bookstores) click here.

It should be a great chance to see a lot of Seattle friends I haven’t seen since the beginning of the pandemic! So come out on Saturday. I’d love to see your face! I haven’t done a reading in Seattle for a very long time…

 

 

 

 

More Tulip and Party Pics

Since I had too much content and not enough space last week, here are some more pics from my 50th birthday at J. Bookwalter (pics thanks to Kelli Agodon) and from our trip to the Skagit Tulip Festival. We are supposed to have a heat wave at the end of the week that may push everything to bloom (and hopefully not burn) after a long cold, wet spring.

Even with a book launch, I have time to snap pictures of goldfinches and black-headed grosbeaks, which only appear during the summer, and I took time to photograph fallen cherry blossoms yesterday on a long walk looking for evidence of ducklings and goslings (no luck yet.) Wish me luck on the reading and book promotion this week – Flare, Corona was such a difficult book to write, and I hope people do find something in it that they can relate to. Wishing you all a happy spring (almost summer, apparently) week with time to notice the little things that make spring my favorite season.

 

 

 

50th Birthday Celebrations with Wine, Cupcakes, Books and Paintings, Poems in American Poetry Review, Feature at DMQ Review’s Virtual Salon, A Visit to the Tulip Festival, a Parental Visit – It’s Been a Week!

50th Birthday Celebrations with Wine, Cupcakes, Books, and Paintings

Yesterday was my 50th birthday, and wow, I was so excited to be celebrating with friends of 20 years from all over (including across the water!) and my family (including my parents who flew out from Ohio to be here. We had the celebration at J. Bookwalter’s Winery in Woodinville, there were wines and cupcakes and a poetry reading (I mean, should all birthday parties have poetry?) and Glenn did a toast and Kelli read an old poem I wrote that made me cry and I read poems from Flare, Corona. People brought beautiful flowers, my whole book club was there, and we stayed way past closing time celebrating. Having MS means today I’ll pretty much just rest but it was so worth it – we threw open the doors and windows at the winery and it (almost) felt like the last three pandemic years of isolation were over. Someone (John Campos, who is also J. Bookwalter’s Woodinville manager) gave me a beautiful painting rendition of my book cover (I love to be friends with artists!) and I just felt so much love and support. I didn’t get a ton of pics (even Glenn was too busy to take pics) but here are a few including my family pre-party, the editors of Two Sylvias Press, Kelli Russell Agodon and Annette Spaulding-Convy, and my friend poet Ronda who just had her own book come out, Chaos Theory for Beginners.

Literary Birthday News: Two Poems in American Poetry Review and a feature on DMQ Review’s May Virtual Salon

Wow, I am really feeling the literary love on this birthday – I just got the new issue (May/June) of American Poetry Review with two of my poems in it, “Disintegration” and “In the Second Year of the Plague, I Plant a Fig Tree.” Snag the whole issue, but sneak peek of my two poems below.

 

And, DMQ Review invited me (perfect timing!) to do a virtual Salon for May, which means you can see me reading a few poems from Flare, Corona here at their site. Cool birthday present!

Tulip Festival and Parental Visit

This is already a long post and I am busted from the week’s festivities, but I wanted to post a few pictures from the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (exhausting but exhilarating to be around so many flowers) and my parents’ visit to Woodinville. We had some sunny weather – as you can see – after a mostly miserable, cold, rainy, April, so all the pictures in sunlight we all look pretty happy (or squinty?) Cherry blossoms, lilacs, apple trees, tulips – Pacific Northwest Spring at its best.

I hadn’t seen my parents in six years – and definitely hadn’t been in the same room with so much family in at least that long, Dad’s health issues keep him from traveling much (at all during the pandemic) so I was really grateful to have this time with them. We played guitar, visited wineries, walked around trees…it was wonderful. Okay, exhausted from a wonderful April – birthdays, poetry, flowers, cupcakes, and wine.

What a Week! Flare, Corona Makes Ms. Magazine’s Best Poetry of the Year List, A New Poem in Sixth Finch, Reports from a Redmond Reading and Speculative Lecture for Writer’s Digest, Upcoming 50th Birthday Party

What a Week! From the Hospital to Poetry Readings to Making the List and More!

Well, this was a heck of a week. Besides miserable cold weather all week, it started out with Monday spent in the hospital (blood work, MRI, fluids) and ended with three straight days of cortisol-packed poetry action – a reading on Thursday (plus some good news for my new book,) picking up my parents from the airport on Friday, and a lecture for a Writer’s Digest virtual conference Saturday afternoon. One of my favorite poems just went up at Sixth Finch today. And now, I will collapse! Just kidding. But I may spend the day in bed reading!

Flare, Corona Makes Ms. Magazine’s best Poetry of the Last Year!

Wow, what a surprise to come home from Thursday night’s rainstorm reading to see this! Ms. Magazine had a list of the best poetry books of the last year, and Flare, Corona was on it! Check out the list here! I am so grateful to Ms. Magazine and Karla J. Strand for choosing my book and putting it in such great company. A couple of BOA authors (including Jessica Stark!) on the list too, yay.

It’s a first for me to get this kind of “major media” attention, so I’m extra grateful. I do not take anything like this for granted. I hope the list is a fun read – I know I’m going to grab a couple of books on the list I hadn’t heard of.

A New Poem in Sixth Finch

So proud to have a new poem in the terrific new issue of Sixth Finch, “Cassandra Considers a New Job in a Plague Year.” It’s a little bit autobiographical. Cassandra of myth, of course, was cursed with the ability to see the future but have no one believe her.

There’s a sneek peek below but read the whole issue – and check out the art as well.

Reports from a Redmond Reading with Kelli Russell Agodon and a Speculative Poetry Presentation at Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Conference

Thursday night was Kelli Russell Agodon and my reading at Soul Food Coffee House, a series that’s been going on in Redmond for a shocking 17 years! (I was one of the first readers 17 years ago!) It was a squalling rainstorm outside. Kelli and I had dinner together beforehand, Kelli got a chance to cuddle with kitten Charlotte, we got to catch up, and then it was off to the reading. This was one of my first in-person readings in a long time, besides being a chance to try out poems from Flare, Corona, which I haven’t read from except really briefly at AWP. The open mike part ran long, so we had to book it to get Kelli to her ferry on time in the pouring rain. It was really good to do the thing called “human contact” again, despite my continued nervousness about covid. And Kelli and I always have a good time hanging out.

The next day my parents flew in from Ohio, so Glenn and I drove out to the airport to get them, then took them to the ferry to they could visit with my little brother and his wife who live over the water for a few days. It was really good to see them in person – it had been six years! And then woke up early Saturday to prep for my Speculative Poetry lecture for Writer’s Digest Virtual Poetry Writing Conference. I am still learning how to do a PowerPoint on a shared screen during Zoom, but it went really well, a pretty full class, and lots of good questions afterwards.

After Saturday’s lecture, though, my MS brain and body decided it had had enough stress – even though it was mostly good stress, minus the hospital trip – so I crashed early with HGTV on in the background and slept through a whole six hours – a bit of an accomplishment for a poor sleeper like myself. This morning I had breakfast in bed and I’m catching up on reading.

Woodinville 50th Birthday Party Plus New Poetry Book Celebration

And guess what? The parents will come to our house in a few days, and then we’ll have our Woodinville Birthday Party/Book Launch at J. Bookwalter’s Winery with cupcakes, a little poetry reading, and a LOT of wine and celebrating on April 30. I’m turning 50 and having my book come out the same week, just a few days after a solar eclipse, which seems appropriate given the book’s cover. Kelli will also be a guest reader and family and friends are welcome, so if you want to come celebrate with us, here’s the info in a graphic Glenn made. Wine, poetry, and cupcakes! What could be better than that?